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Study Suggests Soda Pop Causes Premature Ageing

by Brandon Dimmel on June, 10 2007 at 08:06AM EDT

For many techies, whiling away the hours on audio/video forums or in online gaming sessions, sugary sodas are the key to staying attentive. Anyone who's stared at a computer screen for more than eight hours a day knows that something extra -- be it coffee, tea, or pop -- is often needed to prevent one from passing out on their keyboard.

Unfortunately, now it seems techies, and just about everyone else, have been given one more reason to stay away from Coca-cola and the like. Aside from dousing the insides with sugar (causing weight gain, dental issues, and even diabetes), sodas are now being linked to major DNA disorders, including premature ageing. (Source: slashdot.org)

Americans are obsessed with wrinkles and sagging skin. Every year, thousands of U.S. citizens spend money trying to ward off the inevitable, spreading creams and contacting plastic surgeons.

However, according to an expert at England's Sheffield University, cutting out soda may be the best way to stave off ageing. Professor Peter Piper (yes, that's his real name) has found that the sodium benzoate in pop can damage a crucial part of a human's DNA, specifically the power generator of a cell known as the mitochondria.

If mitochondria in cells is tampered with -- as sodium benzoate appears to provide -- then a host of problems follows. According to Piper, "the cell starts to malfunction very seriously." Consequences for over-indulgence in soda pop, once only tied to obesity, cavities, and the onset of diabetes, could now affect the body's defense against "...Parkinson's and quite a lot of other neuron-degenerative diseases, but above all the whole process of ageing." (Source: independent.co.uk)

Piper believes the soda industry will deny the negative effects of compounds like sodium benzoate, but cites outdated testing by the US Food and Drug Administration.

For those wondering, yes, diet sodas (like Diet Pepsi and Pepsi Max) also include sodium benzoate.